JP3315844B2 - Scheduling device and scheduling method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer.
The present invention relates to a scheduling apparatus and method for creating various schedules such as a schedule of a development or design project in various tasks or a production management schedule in a factory or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a development or design project in various businesses or a production management in a factory or the like, a scheduling problem has been a major problem in planning work or planning work. This scheduling problem is generally defined as "a problem of allocating resources (resources) and processing time required for executing a process to a given job".

[0003] Here, the scheduling problem is defined as a problem of determining "what work", "who", and "when". Then, what corresponds to "what work" is called "process", and what corresponds to "who" is called "resource". Further, “when” means that the time for processing the process is determined.

There are various fields of application for scheduling. Here, the prior arts in two fields, project scheduling and production planning scheduling, will be mainly described. In the project scheduling, since the context of the process is complicated, it is necessary to grasp the context and draft a schedule. On the other hand, in the case of a production plan, it is necessary to consider various restrictions such as restrictions on equipment and the period required for setup.

In order to deal with such a problem, the following method is used in the conventional technology.

[0006] 1. Project scheduling In project scheduling, P
ERT method and CPM method have been studied (Tomoaki Sekine,
"PERT / CPM", NIS). In the PERT method, a process network is created based on the context of processes, and the earliest start time and latest end time of each process are calculated based on the network. As a result, the time margin and the like of each process are calculated. Also, the CPM method uses PE
This is a method for reducing the overall construction period based on the result of the RT method, and is not a method related to resource allocation, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here.

[0007] The PERT method is usually used together with the pile-up and crushing method. PERT
A method in which the work time of each process is temporarily determined by calculation, and when the schedule is not executable due to resource constraints, the process of a portion where resource requests are concentrated is sequentially shifted to another resource. It is.

[0008] However, the pile-up and sloping method is
This method sequentially shifts the processing time in consideration of the priority of the resources and the spare time, and is basically performed on a single resource with limited capacity. That is, a single resource means that, for example, in the case of project scheduling, work is not assigned to individuals, but is assigned to a group (entire project team). At this time, it is assumed that the capacity is the upper limit number of people in the group.

On the other hand, as a scheduling method for a plurality of resources, a RAMPS which is an extension of the above method is described.
(Resource Allocation and Multi-Project Schedulin
g: see the above-mentioned document). This involves preparing multiple types of resources required for the work, for example, an “electrical designer group” and a “mechanical designer group”, and creating a schedule based on the data on how many people are required for each resource to perform each process. It is a method of planning. According to this method, scheduling can be performed for a plurality of resources.

[0010] 2. Scheduling a production plan In the scheduling of a production plan, in the case of high-mix low-volume production, each production request item is divided into production processes as a schedule unit.In the case of mass production, the production request item is divided into lot units. What is divided into production processes is a schedule unit. In the case of this production plan also, since the number of processes is large, the problem is similar to the problem of project scheduling. That is, in consideration of the line priority and the difference in capability of each line, it is necessary to take into account the complicated order relationship of the processes and to formulate a schedule to match the final delivery date of each lot. But,
Production planning is often more complicated. For example, if the resource occupied by each process is not one, for example, a constraint that two processing machines and jigs and tools are required at the same time, or if two or more lots are to be continuously processed by the same processing machine, use this method. In the case where different jigs and tools are used, it is necessary to take into account the restrictions of factories and facilities such that one hour must be left as a preparation time (setup time) for setting the jigs and tools. In the case of mass production, lots often increase, and it is difficult to schedule all processes at once.

Therefore, the following scheduling method can be considered. In other words, anticipating the congestion status of the process,
In this method, the time required for each process including the waiting time is roughly estimated, the start possible time and the end time of each process are determined, and scheduling is performed independently for each process so as to be within the time. Alternatively, in the case where scheduling is performed in the order of steps and scheduling is performed from the preceding step, the end time of the preceding step is set to the start possible time of the succeeding step, and the subsequent step is scheduled. According to such a method, the problem is in each step, and the step is a single step or a very simple one even if it is a plurality of steps.

For example, consider a scheduling method that takes into account the setup period. Here, "a certain process requires a jig and a tool in addition to a processing machine, and a jig and a tool are determined according to a product. At this time, a setup period is required when exchanging a jig and a tool with the same processing machine." It is assumed that there is a restriction. Since there is room for the number of jigs and tools, and considering only the setup period for replacement, allocating lots using the same jig as much as possible reduces the setup period and reduces the operating rate of the processing machine. Goes up.

However, if the lots are put together too much,
In that process, the residence time of one lot increases, and the processing for the other lot does not end before the processing for the lot, and the work does not end at the scheduled end time of the entire project. Therefore, two conflicting goals must be considered: improving the availability of the processing machine and reducing the residence time of the lot.

In view of the above points, as a conventional production planning scheduling method, an OR (Operations Recovery) method using a branch and bound method or an integer programming method or the like is searched.
rch) method and the dispatching rules by IF-TH
There is an expert system-like method described by the EN rule.

In the OR method, first, a schedule as a basic end result is evaluated. For example, in the case of the above-described example, the sum of the operation rates of all the processing machines is used as the first evaluation criterion, and the sum of the residence times of the lots is used as the second evaluation criterion. Calculate these. In the field of OR, the above problem is often regarded as a lot ordering problem, and many methods for optimizing the order have been studied. Basically, in order to optimize the order, there are many cases in which some initial solution is given and this is modified so as to approach the optimal solution.

On the other hand, the expert system method is a method in which a heuristic method used by a skilled planner when creating a work plan is simulated by using a computer as a knowledge base. That is, since the process is performed in a manner similar to the scheduling procedure by a human, the process of selecting and assigning a process that is not assigned is repeated. The selection and allocation performed when creating a schedule is called dispatching, and the rules of how to select and allocate are called dispatching rules. In this case, AI (Artificial Intel
In many cases, scheduling is performed by symbolic inference according to the IF-THEN rule due to the background of the technology in the field of IGence. That is, the constraint condition is expressed in a rule format including an IF part (antecedent part) and a THEN part (consequent part) of IF to THEN.

For example, consider a case where the setup time is reduced. Here, the end time of the latest process currently allocated to each resource is set as the end time of the resource, and the jig used by that process is called the currently used jig. In this case, the assignment is performed according to the following rule group.

IF When a jig used in a certain process is the same as a jig currently used for a certain resource THEN Allocates the process to the resource IF IF Same jig as a jig currently used by each resource When there is no process that uses THEN, the process with the earliest delivery date is assigned to the resource with the earliest finish time. Such a rule-based expression is easy to understand at first glance, is easy to input knowledge when considering the scheduling work, and is easy. A simple scheduling system can be constructed. Scheduling systems currently in practice use such dispatching rules as IF-TH
In many cases, programming is performed using the EN rule or a programming method based on the EN rule. A feature of such a rule-based scheduling is that a scheduling system at a practical level can be easily constructed without pursuing an optimal solution. Since the amount of calculation is smaller than that of the OR method, it is possible to cope with a case where the number of machines is large or a case where the priorities are determined for the machines.

[0019]

The conventional scheduling method has the following problems. 1. In the case of project scheduling Conventional project scheduling mainly focuses on schedules at construction sites, etc., so it suffices to create a schedule that takes into account the capacity of the group. However, especially in the case of design work, the construction period may vary significantly depending on the ability of each individual, and work that can not be engaged may occur. There is a need to. If the resources to which each process is allocated are uniquely determined, a plurality of resources can be set as described above and scheduling can be performed using the pile-up / mountain collapse method in order to allocate work to individuals.

However, usually, not only one person can be assigned to one task, but one person is often selected from a plurality of persons. As described above, when there are a plurality of resources to which each process can be allocated, the status of the pile changes by changing the resources, and according to the number of combinations of each process and the resources that can be allocated thereto, A pile of types will occur. For example, it is assumed that there are ten processes to be scheduled, and there are three resources each of which can be allocated. In that case, there are about 170,000 possible resource patterns that can be selected in each process, and it is difficult to perform mountain landslide considering all of these patterns. In addition, in a real problem, there is often a priority relationship such as "There is a resource to be selected as much as possible from the allocatable resources, but other resources may be used as long as the resource is not convenient in terms of schedule."

For example, in the case of the above-described design work, a responsible person is determined for each design item, and it is preferable that the responsible person perform the design work as much as possible. However, if an attempt is made to comply with the constraint that “the person in charge works”, the overall construction period will increase. In this case, it is necessary to first pile up to be assigned to the responsible person, and to shift the process to another resource and carry out mountain collapse while considering the balance with the entire construction period. However,
Such landslides are rather complicated. In the conventional landslide method, it is sufficient to consider only the period so that the entire project can be completed in time for delivery. In this method, the landslide must be performed while considering allocatable resources as well as the period.

As described above, in order to solve a problem in which the order relation between processes is complicated as in the case of project scheduling, the conventional pile-up and landslide method and the extended method thereof use the following methods.
It has been difficult to create a schedule that takes into account the priority of each of a plurality of resources together with the period element of the process.

2. In the case of production planning The above-mentioned OR method is a problem for a single machine when performing optimization only for an ordering problem, and it is difficult to apply it to scheduling for a plurality of machines. . Further, even a plurality of machines are limited to very small machines such as two or three machines. Furthermore, in most cases, only research on a single process, not multiple processes, is currently performed.

In this OR-like method, it is fundamental to find an optimal solution, and since the target to be scheduled is represented by an evaluation function for the final result, there is an advantage that the purpose becomes clear. However, the solution is complicated, and there is a problem that it cannot be generally applied to a complicated problem due to restrictions such as calculation time.

In the expert system method, the expression in the rule format is used for conditioning when allocating one process. In this expression method, the machine operating rate and the lot as described above are used. It is difficult to describe a rule set about the optimality in consideration of the stagnation time of the data. Further, there is a problem that when setting the conditions in detail, the rule set becomes complicated and construction becomes difficult. Further, in the expert system method, it is difficult to fine-tune the knowledge depending on specific situations such as a specific relationship between processes, a limit of a periodical delay, a failure of a specific machine, and the like. That is, since the structure of knowledge is relatively complicated, it is difficult to construct a system that changes little by little when data has different properties.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and its object is to
For each of the multiple processes for which the order relationship has been determined, the compatibility with each of the multiple resources is evaluated, and the period element of the process is also evaluated, and the balance between the compatibility and the period element is set optimally. The present invention provides a scheduling apparatus and method capable of performing the above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a scheduling apparatus and method capable of optimally setting a balance between a setup period and a period element of the above-mentioned process when allocating a plurality of types of resources to each of the plurality of processes. It is to provide.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a scheduling apparatus and method capable of adjusting the balance between the adaptability and the period element or the balance between the setup period and the period element.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Scheduling using a computer
In the Turing device, for each of a plurality of resources, a resource defining means for defining an attribute including its capability, and for a plurality of steps having a predetermined order relationship,
Process definition means for defining each attribute, and time setting means for setting a process start time and a scheduled process end time for the entire series of processes in the plurality of processes or any process in the process. , The resource definition means
Data on a plurality of resources defined by
Data related to multiple processes defined by the process definition means
Data and the start / end set by the time setting means.
Storage means for storing data relating to the expiration date;
Based on the data on the plurality of steps stored in the means.
There are the steps selecting means for sequentially selecting step for assignment to a resource of the plurality of steps, each step selected by said step selecting means, stored in said storage means
Related to the process and the resources
For each of multiple resources based on the data
Temporary assignment means for temporary assignment and the result of the temporary assignment
The start and end times stored in the storage means.
Based on that data, a set of engineering of the plurality of step
By determining the end time of the process, the end time of the series of steps is evaluated in a periodical manner, the first evaluation means using the periodical evaluation as a first scale, and the time stored in the storage means.
Data about the resource and data about the process
And evaluating the suitability of the resource with respect to the process, evaluating the suitability evaluation as a second scale, and evaluating the first scale and the second scale. An evaluation value for a combination of a process and the resource is calculated, the evaluation value is calculated for each of the plurality of resources, and the evaluation values of all the resources are compared to determine an optimal resource for the process. a resource determination unit for performing, is selected by the process selection means
Each step to be performed,
Comprising the step allocating means for sequentially allocating for each resource that is determined, and means for generating a scheduling chart showing processes assigned to the resource by the process allocation unit by the process selection means, the process allocating means Is not selected as a temporary allocation target.

[0030] The invention of claim 15, wherein this section of the specification captures the invention of claim 1, wherein in terms of method, the scheduling method for scheduling using a computer, for each of a plurality of resources, Yoo
A resource definition step for defining an attribute including the capability based on data input from the user and storing the defined content as data relating to a plurality of resources in a storage unit; A process defining step for defining each attribute based on data input from a user and storing the defined contents in the storage unit as data relating to a plurality of processes; and a series of processes in the plurality of processes. Data entered by the user for the entire process or any of the processes
A time setting step for setting the processing start time and the processing end time based on the time, and storing the set contents in the storage unit as data relating to the start and end time;
A process selecting step of sequentially selecting, from the plurality of processes, a process of allocating to a resource among the plurality of processes, based on data on the plurality of processes stored in the storage unit, and a process selected by the process selecting step. A tentative allocation step of temporarily allocating to each of a plurality of resources based on the data on the process and the data on the plurality of resources stored in the storage means; and By determining the end time of a series of steps of the plurality of steps based on the stored data on the start and end times,
A first evaluation step in which the end time of the series of processes is evaluated periodically, and the periodic evaluation is used as a first measure, and a data related to the resource and a data related to the process stored in the storage unit. Assess the suitability of the resource for the process, and conduct a second
A second evaluation step as a measure of the first measure;
By evaluating the second scale and calculating an evaluation value for the combination of the process and the resource, calculating the evaluation value for each of the plurality of resources, and comparing the evaluation values of all the resources. A resource determining step of determining an optimal resource for the process;
A process allocation step of sequentially allocating each process selected by the process selection step to each resource determined by the resource determination step for the process, and a process allocated to resources by the process allocation step. Generating a scheduling chart, wherein the process selecting step does not select a process that has already been allocated by the process allocating step as a target of temporary allocation,
It is characterized by.

According to the first and fifteenth aspects of the present invention, scheduling for allocating each of the plurality of processes to one of the plurality of resources is performed. At this time, for example, the degree of suitability of each process and each resource is determined by the combination thereof. More specifically, which process is better for each resource, and which resource is appropriate for each process to process. In this case, various aspects such as efficiency differ depending on which resource each step is allocated to. On the other hand, if the assignment is performed based only on the suitability, there arises a problem that a predetermined number of processes are not completed within a predetermined period. Accordingly, by temporarily assigning each process to each resource and determining the end time of each subsequent process, particularly a series of continuous processes, the scheduled processing time, that is, the scheduled end time, in the combination of the relevant process and the resource is determined. Perform a periodical assessment of The evaluation over time is represented by a numerical value or the like as a first scale, while the suitability is evaluated and the result is represented by a numerical value or the like as a second scale. As described above, since the suitability of each process and each resource is evaluated and the period element is also taken into consideration, it is possible to perform optimal scheduling that balances the suitability and the period element.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the first aspect, a first weight for weighting the resource is set in consideration of an end time of a series of the plurality of steps. And a second weighting unit that evaluates the suitability of the resource for the process using the first weight.

The invention according to claim 16 is the invention according to claim 2.
The invention according to claim 15, wherein the first aspect of the scheduling method according to the first aspect is configured to perform weighting for the resource in consideration of an end time of a series of steps of the plurality of steps. Weight of the user
Comprises a first weight setting step of setting based on the data input from the , the second evaluation step, using the first weight, to evaluate the suitability of the resource for the process, It is characterized by.

According to the second and 16th aspects of the present invention, the first scale and the second scale are balanced by evaluating the suitability by considering the first weight. The best combination with resources can be determined. In particular, while evaluating the suitability of each process and each resource, taking into account the time factors and balancing them by weight, the balance between the suitability and the time factors is excellent. It is possible to perform optimal scheduling.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling device according to the second aspect, when an event that satisfies a predetermined condition occurs in the scheduling, the first weight setting means sets the first weight setting means. It is characterized by comprising weight correction means for correcting the weight.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the third aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method of the sixteenth aspect, an event that satisfies a predetermined condition occurs in the scheduling. In this case, the method further comprises a weight correcting step of correcting the first weight set in the first weight setting step.

According to the third and 17th aspects of the present invention, the first weight is corrected in accordance with a specific situation such as a specific relationship between processes, a limit of a periodical delay, a failure of a specific resource, and the like. This allows for flexible scheduling.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the third aspect, the step selecting means is configured to determine an earliest possible start time for each step based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of steps. An evaluation value is calculated using the latest end time, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value.

The invention according to claim 18 is an aspect in which the invention according to claim 4 is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method according to claim 17, the step selecting step includes the step of selecting the plurality of steps. An evaluation value is calculated using an earliest possible start time and an allowable latest end time for each process based on a periodical relationship, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value. .

According to the fourth and eighteenth aspects of the present invention, the earliest possible start time and the allowable latest processing time are evaluated for each step based on the interrelationship of a plurality of steps. In order to select a process, it is possible to select from a process having a high urgency in which the start time and the end time are early.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the first aspect, the step selecting means is configured to determine an earliest possible processing time for each step based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of steps. An evaluation value is calculated using the latest processing time and a process is selected based on the evaluation value.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the fifth aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method of the fifteenth aspect, the step of selecting the plurality of steps is performed. It is configured to calculate an evaluation value using the earliest possible processing time and the allowable latest processing time for each process based on the mutual relationship over time, and to select a process based on the evaluation value. It is characterized by the following.

According to the fifth and nineteenth aspects of the present invention, the earliest possible processing time and the permissible latest processing time are evaluated for each step based on the interrelationship of the plurality of steps over time. In order to select a process, it is possible to select from a process having a high urgency in which the start time and the end time are early.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the first aspect, the process selecting means is configured to determine the earliest possible processing time for each process based on a temporal relationship between the plurality of processes. The latest processing time,
The method is characterized in that an evaluation value is calculated by comprehensively evaluating a correlation between each resource allocation status and each process at that time, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the sixth aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method of the fifteenth aspect, the step of selecting the plurality of steps is performed. Comprehensively evaluate and evaluate the earliest possible processing time and the allowable latest processing time for each process, and the correlation between each process and the allocation status of each resource at that time based on the mutual relationship over time. A value is calculated, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value.

According to the sixth and twentieth aspects of the present invention, the earliest possible processing time and the permissible latest processing time for each step are determined based on the interrelationship of the plurality of steps over time. Since a process is selected by evaluating the correlation between the allocation status of each resource and the process, a process with a high urgency that has an early start time and an end time is selected while referring to the allocation status of each resource at that time. be able to.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling device according to the sixth aspect, a second weight for determining a degree of priority of the process when determining a correlation between the allocation status of each resource and each process. And a second weight setting means for setting the weight.

According to a twenty-first aspect, in the seventh aspect,
The invention described in the above is grasped from the viewpoint of a method, and in the scheduling method according to claim 20, a priority degree of the step is determined when determining a correlation between the allocation status of each resource and each step. the second weight, Yu
Second for setting based on the data input from the user
And a weight setting step.

According to the seventh and twenty-first aspects of the present invention, the earliest possible processing time and the permissible latest processing time for each step are determined based on the interrelationship of the plurality of steps over time. Since the process is selected by comprehensively evaluating the correlation between the allocation status of each resource and the process and the second weight, the start time and the end time are determined while referring to the allocation status of each resource at that time. It is possible to select a process with high urgency quickly.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the seventh aspect, when an event satisfying a predetermined condition occurs in the scheduling, the second weight setting means sets the second weight setting means. It is characterized by comprising weight correction means for correcting the weight.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, the eighth aspect of the present invention is considered from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method according to the twenty-first aspect, an event that satisfies a predetermined condition occurs in the scheduling. In this case, there is provided a weight correction step of correcting the second weight set in the second weight setting step.

According to the inventions of claims 8 and 22, the second weight is corrected according to a specific situation such as a specific relationship between processes, a limit of a periodical delay, a failure of a specific resource, and the like. This enables flexible scheduling.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the process selecting means can execute the earliest processing based on a correlation between the allocation status of each resource at that time and each process. One of the periods between the time and the latest processing time is obtained, and the time is used as the evaluation value. According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, the invention according to the ninth aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method according to the twentieth aspect, the step of selecting the process includes the step of One of the periods between the earliest possible processing time and the latest processing time is obtained based on the correlation between the allocation status and each process, and that time is used as the evaluation value.

According to the ninth and twenty-third aspects of the present invention, one of the periods between the earliest possible processing time and the latest processing time is obtained, and the obtained time is used as an evaluation value. Thus, it is possible to select a process that is more suitable for the situation at that time.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the first aspect, the step defining means includes:
In addition to the resources defined by the resource definition unit, additional resources are defined in advance as resources required for each step, and the second evaluation unit is configured so that the additional resources are the same in the resources. The method is characterized in that the suitability is highly evaluated when the steps are continuously assigned. Claim 2
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the tenth aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the scheduling method of the fifteenth aspect, the step of defining the step includes the step of defining the resource as a resource required for each step. In addition to the resource defined by the definition step, the additional resource is configured to be defined in advance, and the second evaluation step is performed when a process in which the additional resource is the same in the resource is continuously assigned. , Characterized in that the suitability is highly evaluated.

According to the tenth and twenty-fourth aspects of the present invention,
Additional resources such as jigs and tools are determined for each of the plurality of processes, and scheduling for allocating each of the processes to any of the resources is performed. At this time, looking at each resource, when the resource processes different types of processes in succession, if the additional resources determined for each process are different, the preparation period for replacing it (hereinafter, referred to as
(Setup period) may be required between steps. In such a case, if this setup period is reduced,
The efficiency of that resource goes up. On the other hand, if priority is given to the reduction of the setup period, there occurs a problem that only the process of the same process precedes and other processes are delayed, and a predetermined number of processes are not completed within a predetermined period.

For this reason, first, a process in which the same additional resource as the additional resource of the process currently allocated to each resource at that time is defined is preferentially selected. Then, when assigning each selected process to each resource,
It is evaluated whether the additional resource determined for the process is the same as the additional resource determined for the process last allocated to the resource, and is used as a second scale. The case where these additional resources are the same, that is, the case where setup is unnecessary. In addition, by determining the end time of each subsequent step when each step is allocated to each resource, in particular, the end time of a series of continuous steps, a periodical evaluation of the scheduled end time in the combination of the relevant step and the resource is performed. I do. This periodical evaluation is represented by a numerical value or the like and used as a first scale.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the tenth aspect, the process selecting means is configured to determine the earliest possible processing time for each process based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of processes. Comprehensively evaluates the latest processing time and the correlation between each resource allocation status and each process at that time, calculates an evaluation value, and selects a process based on this evaluation value. It is characterized by having. According to the twenty-fifth aspect, the eleventh aspect is provided.
The invention described in the above is grasped from the viewpoint of a method, wherein in the scheduling method according to claim 24, the step of selecting the step is capable of performing the earliest processing for each step based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of steps. Comprehensively evaluate the timing and the latest processing time allowed, and the correlation between each resource allocation status and each process at that time to calculate an evaluation value, and select a process based on this evaluation value It is characterized by having been constituted as follows.

According to the invention of claims 11 and 25,
Correlation between the earliest possible processing time and the allowable latest processing time for each process, and the allocation status of each resource at that time based on the evaluation of the setup and the interrelationship of the multiple processes over time Is comprehensively evaluated and the process is selected, so that the process can be selected in consideration of the degree of urgency and the increase / decrease of the setup.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling device according to the eleventh aspect, the step selecting means determines that the step in which the same additional resource as the additional resource of the step is defined is any resource at that time. When the resources are allocated, the correlation between the allocation status of each resource and each process is highly evaluated. According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the twelfth aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method.
The process selecting step includes, when a process in which the same additional resource as the additional resource of the process is defined is allocated to any of the resources at that time, a correlation between the allocation status of each resource and each process. Is characterized by being highly evaluated. Claim 12
According to the twenty-sixth aspect, it is possible to evaluate the correlation of each step with reference to the allocation status of the additional resources, and to select a more appropriate step.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the scheduling apparatus according to the sixth or eleventh aspect, the process selecting means uses the earliest possible start time and the latest allowable end time to determine the time. It is characterized in that an evaluation value is calculated. According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, the invention of the thirteenth aspect is grasped from a method point of view. In the scheduling method of the twentieth or twenty-fifth aspect, the step of selecting the process can be started earlier. The evaluation value is calculated by using a timing and an allowable latest end timing. According to the invention of claims 13 and 27, the earliest possible start time is used as the earliest possible processing time, and the latest end time is used as the allowable latest processing time, so that the calculation becomes easy.

[0062] The invention according to claim 14 is the invention according to claims 1 to 1
3. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first evaluation means is a PERT (Program Evalua
and a second measure is obtained using a calculation. The invention described in claim 28 is an invention in which the invention described in claim 14 is grasped from the viewpoint of a method.
7. The scheduling method according to claim 7, wherein the first evaluation step includes a PERT (Program Ev
aluation and Review Technique)
Characterized in that it is configured to determine the scale of

According to the invention of claims 14 and 28,
Periodic evaluation is performed each time each process is allocated to each resource using the PERT calculation. Therefore, it is not necessary to redo the allocation, and the scheduling time can be reduced. Specifically, the period is obtained using the PERT calculation. In other words, in the PERT calculation, mainly a periodical mutual relationship such as a front-back relationship or a parallel relationship between processes is represented by a network between processes. Then, when one or more processes are allocated to a certain resource or a certain time, a time to start another process related thereto and a time to finish another process are obtained based on the network. Note that the calculation of the period in the present invention as described above can be performed by any method, regardless of the name or the specific process mode, as long as the calculation method has the same meaning.

[0064]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that an embodiment described later is realized on a computer, and each function of the embodiment is realized by a predetermined procedure (program) controlling the computer.

Each “means” and “unit” in the present specification is a concept corresponding to each function of the embodiment, and does not always correspond one-to-one to a specific hardware or software routine. The same hardware element constitutes different means depending on the case. For example, a computer could be one means to execute a certain instruction and another to execute another instruction. In addition, one unit may be realized by only one instruction, or may be realized by many instructions.

Therefore, in this specification, the embodiments will be described below assuming virtual circuit blocks (means) having the functions of the embodiments. However, the use of a computer is an example, and all or a part of the functions of the present invention may be realized on an electronic circuit such as a custom chip (dedicated integrated circuit), if possible.

The computer used in the embodiment is
In general, it has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a main storage device comprising a RAM (Random Access Memory). Further, the size of the computer is arbitrary, and any computer such as a microcomputer, a personal computer, a small computer, a workstation, or a mainframe may be used.

The hardware of the computer typically includes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, an external storage device such as a hard disk device, a CRT, and the like.
It includes output devices such as a display device and a printer printing device, and necessary input / output control circuits.

However, the hardware configuration of the computer is free, and some of the above components may be added, changed, or excluded as long as the present invention can be implemented. For example, the embodiments may be realized on a computer network connecting a plurality of computers. Further, the type of CPU is arbitrary, and a plurality of CPUs may be used simultaneously, or a single CPU may be used for time sharing (time division) to perform a plurality of processes simultaneously and in parallel.

Further, other input devices (for example, a pointing device such as a touch panel, a light pen, and a trackball, an image input device such as a digitizer, an image reader, a video camera, a voice identification device, and various sensors) are used. Is also good. Further, other external storage devices (for example, a floppy disk device, a RAM card device, a magnetic tape device, an optical disk device, a magneto-optical disk device,
Bubble memory device, flash memory, etc.). Further, other output devices (for example, liquid crystal display device, plasma display device, video projector, LE
D display device, sound generation circuit, voice synthesis circuit, etc.).

Also, as a configuration of software for realizing the embodiment in the computer, typically, an application program for realizing each function of the embodiment is executed on an OS (Operating System). Is considered. Further, as a form of a program for implementing the embodiment, typically, a machine language compiled (translated) from a high-level language or an assembler can be considered. However, the software configuration of the computer is also free, and the software configuration may be changed as long as the present invention can be implemented. For example, it is not always necessary to use an OS, and the expression format of the program is also free, and an interpreter (sequential interpretation execution type) language such as BASIC may be used.

The program may be stored in any form. For example, the program may be stored in a ROM (read only memory), or may be stored in an external storage device such as a hard disk device. It may be loaded (read) on the main memory at the start of the processing. Alternatively, the program may be divided into a plurality of parts and stored in the external storage device, and only necessary modules may be loaded (read) into the main memory at any time according to the processing content. further,
Each part of the program may be stored in a different manner.

The steps of each procedure in the present embodiment may be executed in a different order, and may be executed simultaneously, or may be executed in a different order for each execution, as long as they do not violate the nature of the steps. Such a change in order, for example,
It can be realized by a menu-type interface method such as selecting a process that can be executed by a user.

The term “input” in the present specification includes not only the input of the original information but also other processes closely related to the input of the information. Such processing is, for example, echo back of input contents or correction / editing. Also, "Input"
Is not necessarily limited to input from outside the computer, and may be performed by reading information from a predetermined memory area or a disk device. Further, “output” in the present specification includes not only output of the original information but also other processes closely related to the output of the information. Such processing is
For example, it is an input of a range to be output or an instruction to scroll the screen. “Output” is not necessarily limited to output to the outside of the computer, but is also performed by writing information to a predetermined memory area or a disk device. Note that input and output may be realized by an integrated operation by an interactive input / output procedure, and processing such as selection, designation, and specification may be performed by such an integrated operation.

The data (information) and data storage means in this specification may exist in any form on the computer. For example, the location of the data on the hardware includes a main storage device, an external storage device, and a CPU.
Any part such as a register or a cache memory may be used. The data can be held in any manner. For example, the data may not only be held in a file format, but also be realized by directly accessing a storage device such as a memory or a disk with a physical address. The data can be expressed in any form. For example, the unit of a code representing a character string may be a character unit or a word unit. Further, it is sufficient that the data is held for a required fixed time, and thereafter, the data may disappear, and the holding time may be freely set. Information that is not changed for the time being, such as dictionary data, may be stored in the ROM.

In this specification, reference to specific information is conclusive, and does not deny the existence of information not mentioned. That is, in the operation of the present invention, general information necessary for the operation and storage areas thereof, for example, various pointers, stacks, counters, flags, parameters, work areas, buffers, and the like are used as appropriate.

Information required for processing in each part of the embodiment is obtained from another part holding the information unless otherwise specified. Such acquisition of information can be realized by, for example, accessing a variable or memory storing the information. Note that erasing / deleting information does not necessarily mean that the content of the information itself is actually deleted from the storage area, but sets a flag indicating erasure,
This can be done by changing the meaning of the information.

A. 1. First Embodiment (A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a scheduling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
The process definition means 1 collectively defines a plurality of processes as units of scheduling and defines them as a process group. For each process constituting each process group, information such as a standard construction period and priority resource information is used as an attribute of the process. Define. Also,
The order relation defining means 2 defines the order relation of the above steps. This order relation definition means 2 may be any method as long as it can define the order relation of the steps. For example, it may use a graphical user interface.

The resource defining means 3 defines a plurality of resources, and for each resource, defines an attribute such as a capability for a process. Further, the start / end time setting means 4 sets, for a plurality of process groups defined by the process definition means 1, a time at which the process can be started earliest and a scheduled end time at the time of the latest delay. The content defined by the process definition means 1 and the sequence relation definition means 2 and the content set by the start / end time setting means 4 are stored in the process data 5a, and the content defined by the resource definition means 3 is Stored in data 5b.

The process selecting means 10 performs a PERT calculation to sequentially select the steps having a high degree of urgency from the steps defined by the process defining means 1. Further, the temporary allocation means 7 uses the PERT calculation to
Is temporarily assigned to each resource.

The first evaluation means 9a evaluates the arrangement time from the result of the PERT calculation by the temporary allocation means 7. Further, the second evaluation means 9b performs an evaluation on resource selection. Further, the resource determining means 8 evaluates the combination of each process and each resource selected by the process selecting means 10 on the basis of the evaluations by the first evaluating means 9a and the second evaluating means 9b. Determine the best resources for your process.

The process allocating means 6 performs a process of actually allocating the resources determined by the resource determining means 8 for each of the plurality of processes.

The first weight setting means 11a sets a first weight for performing weighting at the time of evaluation by the second evaluation means 9b, and the second weight setting means 11b The second weight is set when selecting. The weight correction unit 12 corrects the first weight and the second weight according to specific circumstances such as a specific relationship between processes, a limit of a periodical delay, or a failure of a specific resource.

(A-2) Operation of First Embodiment (1) Specific Contents of Scheduling in First Embodiment Hereinafter, an example in which project scheduling is performed using the scheduling device having the above-described configuration will be described. I do.

As an example of the project scheduling problem, a case where a design project of a video cassette recorder is performed will be described. The project scheduling according to the present embodiment is performed by assigning a process to a resource called a worker (in this example, a designer). There are two types of video cassette recorders to be designed, and independent schedules are created for each of them. That is, the possible work start date and the expected work end date are different for each model, and the design of these two models is performed by the same team of designers. Also,
The design of each model is composed of a plurality of design items, and each design item is composed of a plurality of processes. For each design item, the person in charge who is the responsible person is determined. In such a case, a designer and a work date are determined for all processes.

In the scheduling of this project, the following two points are used as evaluation criteria. 1. Whenever possible, the person in charge of each design item should work. 2. Schedule as much as possible in time for the scheduled work end date. That is, a problem in the present embodiment is to formulate a schedule while balancing the above two evaluation criteria.

(2) Input of Scheduling Object and Various Data Next, data of a plurality of processes and a plurality of resources to be scheduled are input.

First, the user uses the process definition means 1, sequence relationship definition means 2 and resource definition means 3 shown in FIG. 1 to determine the processes and their order relationships, the available resources and the standard man-hours for the resources of each process. Enter the data. The order relation of the steps may be calculated inside the apparatus by using data defined by the step definition means 1 or the like.

The design of each model is as follows. 1. mechanical part, Circuit section; It is divided into each item of the housing, and further, the mechanical part is composed of 1-1 loading, 1-2 head, and 1-3 winder, and the circuit part is 2-1 mechanical drive part, 2-2 image signal part, And 2-3 power supply units, and the housing is formed of a 3-1 housing. Each item is typically 1. 1. Concept design 2. Preparation of specifications 3. internal design; It is assumed that design is performed in four steps of creating a part drawing.

First, the user inputs the standard number of days for each step of the above items in the form of a table by the step definition means 1. Table 1 shows the standard man-hour table as the input result.

[Table 1]

In this embodiment, as shown in Table 1, each step is identified by adding a hyphen to the ID and describing the order of the steps. There are two models, model 1 and model 2, and the difference between the models is identified by the tens place of the ID. For example, the concept design for loading the mechanical part of model 1 is “11
-1-1 ", and the specification of the winder of the mechanical part of model 2 is expressed as" 21-3-2 ". In the present embodiment, the process contents and man-hours of model 1 and model 2 are all It is assumed that they are the same, and the same standard man-hour table is used for the model 2. The standard man-hour table shown in Table 1 is data A
Is stored in the process data 5a.

[0092] In addition, the main charge is determined for the major items of the mechanical unit, the circuit unit, and the housing in each model. Here, the designers are from “A” to “F”, and the items to be the main charge are assigned to “A” to “C”. The user inputs the main charge data in the form of a table by the process definition means 1 as shown in Table 2.

[Table 2] The main charge data is stored as data B in the process data 5a.

Each step includes the following steps: Concept design → 2. Preparation of specifications → 3. Internal design → 4. The parts are created in the order of creation, and this order relation is set with reference to data A shown in Table 1. Furthermore, there are the following restrictions on the order in which this design is performed. a) After the concept design of the mechanical unit is completed, the concept design of the mechanical drive unit is started. b) After the specification creation of the mechanical drive unit and the image signal unit is completed, the conceptual design of the power supply unit is started. c) After all the internal design of the mechanical part and the circuit part is completed,
Start designing the housing concept.

The user inputs the relations a) to c) by the order relation definition means 2. In the present embodiment, the context of the process is defined in a table format as shown in Table 3.

[Table 3] The order relation table shown in Table 3 is stored as data C in the process data 5a.

The user can determine whether the designer can work or not for each major item and process, and if so, how much ability each has. Input by the definition means 3. This input is performed in a table format as shown in Table 4.

[Table 4] According to the capability setting table shown in Table 4, "D", "E",
And "F" are outsourcing, and it can be seen that the concept design work is not possible. The outsourcing “D” cannot be performed for electrical design, and the outsourcing “E” can only be performed for electrical design. Further, it indicates that the abilities of "D" and "E" are standard, and the ability of "F" is estimated to be about 80% of the standard. The value of "0.8" for "F" is reflected in the construction period, and indicates that, for example, it takes 10 days for F to perform a standard construction period of 8 days. The capability setting table shown in Table 4 is stored as data D in the resource data 5b.

The user uses the resource definition means 3 to input the individual's day off. In the present embodiment,
Every Saturday and Sunday is a holiday, and no special holiday is entered for simplicity. Further, the schedule period is from March 28, 1994, and the time is handled by an integer value in units of one day with 0:00 am of March 28 being 0 as designed. Therefore, when it is expressed that the process starts on April 1 and ends on April 2, it means that the process ends by midnight on April 2, and the construction period is only one day on April 1. .

Further, the user sets the start / end time setting means 4
Thus, as shown in Table 5, the earliest date at which the design of each model can be started and the date at which the design is to be finished are input.

[Table 5] The start / end date setting table shown in Table 5 is stored as data E in the process data 5a.

The schedule data 5c stores data F as shown in Table 6 as internal calculation data for scheduling, in addition to the various data described above.

[Table 6] The data F is developed based on the standard man-hour table of the data A at the start of the schedule. “RS” in Table 6 indicates a resource, and “NONE” indicates that the resource has not been allocated yet. The fact that all dates are 3/28 indicates that 3/28, which is the start time of the above-described schedule period, is included as an initial value. Also, "EST", "EET",
“LST” and “LET” are areas in which the result of the PERT calculation is written, and represent the earliest start time, earliest end time, latest start time, and latest end time, respectively. In this embodiment, a standard construction period is used as the construction period used in the PERT calculation. Furthermore, "STA
“RT” represents the actually assigned start time, and “EN”
D "represents the end time.

(3) Estimation of allowable delay amount After each data is set as described above, scheduling is started. Here, description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the allowable delay amount for each model is estimated.

That is, in step S 1, the weight correcting means 12 performs the PERT calculation based on the order relation defined by the order relation defining means 2. Here, Table 3
FIG. 3 shows a representation of the order relationship shown in the data C of FIG. FIG. 4 shows the result of performing the PERT calculation based on this order relationship with the possible design start time of each model set to 0. "Earliest allocation time" in Fig. 4
Indicates the time at which processing can be started / finished for that process as soon as possible for each process, and the “latest allocation time” is the “earliest allocation time” of the last process as the final deadline for all processes of that model. Represents the time at which the processing must be started / finished at the latest to complete all the processes at that time. From the above, this project can be completed in a minimum of 69 days without considering the number of designers and the constraints of the designer such as the main person in charge. In other words, the minimum time to complete this project is It turns out that it takes 69 days.

The result of the PERT calculation as described above is reflected in the data F as shown in Table 7.

[Table 7] The earliest start time EST and the latest start time LST for the model 1 and the model 2 are start times for the entire model, and are the earliest end time EET and the latest end time LET.
Is the end time for the entire model. When the PERT calculation is performed in step S1, the assigned start time, the earliest start time EST, and the latest start time LST are set to the same for the already assigned steps, and the assigned end time is set to the same. Earliest end time EE
It is assumed that T and the latest end time LET are the same, and the PERT calculation is performed.

When the PERT calculation is completed, the weight correcting means 12 estimates the allowable delay amount for each model. The allowable delay amount is a weight for the main charge at the time of assignment, and is a delay amount allowed to be assigned to the main charge in a single arrangement. This allowable delay amount is obtained from the result of the PERT calculation. That is, the spare days of the entire model (the difference between the latest end time LET and the earliest end time EET)
Is divided by the number of unarranged processes (the total number of processes), the number of days that may be delayed per-process is calculated. An expression for calculating the allowable delay amount Dn for each process of a certain model n is shown below.

[0103]

(Equation 1)

Here, α is a coefficient for adjusting the final end date of the work of each model to a desired end date, and varies depending on the shape of the network of the process. In particular,
Assuming that the process networks are in series and all jobs are equally delayed, the coefficient α is close to 1, but if there are many parallel processes as in the present embodiment, the amount of delay may not be uniform. Is big. This is because, if a certain process delays the subsequent process, the number of extra days for the process in parallel with it is increased, and the possibility that a process with a large number of extra days is scheduled without delay increases. As a result, the schedule ends earlier than the scheduled end date. The value of the coefficient α needs to be adjusted depending on the shape of the process network for each model, but in the present embodiment, α = 1
Set to 0.

The coefficient α is a reference value of the weight, and is set by the first weight setting means 11a. Therefore, the allowable delay amount D for each process of the model 1 and the model 2
1 and D2 are obtained by the following equations.

[0106]

(Equation 2)

(4) Step Selection Next, the step of assigning to a designer is sequentially selected from a plurality of steps. That is, in step S2, it is determined whether or not a process to be allocated remains, and if so, the process proceeds to step S3. Then, step S3
, The process selecting means 10 performs a PERT calculation. At this time, the assigned start time and the earliest start time EST are set to the same for the already assigned steps, and the assigned end time and the earliest end time EET are set to be the same, and the PERT calculation for the earliest time is performed. Only do.
The result of this calculation is written to data F in the schedule data 5c. In the first scheduling, a result similar to the result calculated in step S1 is obtained.

Next, in step S4, the process selecting means 10 selects one process having a high degree of urgency. In the present embodiment, the urgency is defined as “earliest start time EST + (latest end time LET−earliest start time EST) × θ”. In the present embodiment, θ is a fixed value and is “0.5”. The value of θ may be another value. The earliest start time EST and the latest end time L
The ET refers to the data F in Table 7 and selects the one with the smaller number when there are a plurality of the same values. Here, first,
The step “11-1-1” is selected.

In addition to selecting a process only based on the degree of urgency as described above, it is also possible to comprehensively evaluate and select the correlation between the state of allocation to each designer at that time and each process. Good. For example, the value of θ is a variable value and is set as follows for each process. That is, the value of θ in the process in which the designer who has the most vacant time at that time is mainly in charge is reduced. As a result, a process having a small value of θ is preferentially selected. Therefore, there is a possibility that the number of assignments to the main person in charge will increase even in the same construction period as a whole. In this case, the second weight setting means 11b sets in advance a weight which is a degree of giving priority to the above steps.

For example, the free time of each resource r is represented by T
(R), the main charge of each process i is Ri, and the second weight is m
(0 <m <1), and θi in each step is set as follows.

(Equation 3) In this case, the value of θi moves up and down with the width of the value of m around “0.5”.

As described above, a value obtained by evaluating a process using the value of θi, that is, an evaluation value serving as a selection criterion is represented by a time, and is a value between the earliest start time EST and the latest end time LET. Can be secured.

Here, the selected step is always allocated between the earliest start time EST and the latest end time LET. For this reason, if the evaluation value serving as the selection criterion greatly deviates from this period, the following inconvenience occurs. That is, there is a case where a process that can be processed only at a late time is first selected even though there are other processes that can be processed early. For this reason, there is a high possibility that there is a waste in the allocation, such as an unnecessary idle time being generated or a processing time of a process not being prioritized being greatly delayed.

Therefore, according to the above-described method, the priority can be effectively reflected on the evaluation value.

(5) Temporary Assignment Processing Next, the selected process is temporarily assigned to each designer. That is, in step S5, the temporary allocation unit 7
Selects a resource defined by the resource definition means 3, that is, one of designers "A" to "F". The order of selection may be arbitrary, but here "F"
To "A" in this order. If there is any designer whose assignment has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S6. Here, first, the designer “F” is selected.

Then, in step S6, the temporary allocation means 7 refers to the contents of the data D (capability setting table) in Table 4 and determines whether or not the process selected in step S4 can be allocated to the resource. I do. Here, it is determined that the process “11-1-1” is a conceptual design of the mechanical unit and cannot be assigned to “F”. Then, the process returns to step S5 again. A method in which steps S5 and S6 are combined to form a step by giving a list of resources that can be assigned to each step in advance is also possible. That is, when selecting a resource, it is determined whether or not allocation is possible with reference to the list.

Hereinafter, in step S5, "E" and "D" are sequentially selected, but it is determined that all of them cannot be allocated, and then "C" is selected. Then, in step S6, referring to the contents of the data D (capability setting table) in Table 4, it is determined that the data can be allocated to "C", and the process proceeds to step S7.

Next, in step S7, the temporary allocation means 7 refers to the data A (standard man-hour table) in Table 1 and determines that the standard work period of the process is eight days. Table 4
With reference to the contents of the data D (capability setting table), the work period of the designer for the process is obtained. Here, since the capability setting for the conceptual design of the mechanical unit of the designer “C” is 1.0, the construction period is calculated as follows.

Standard construction period (8 days) / capacity setting (1.0) = 8 days There is also a method in which the construction period for each process of each designer and each design item is calculated in advance and stored as a list. It is not always necessary to calculate at this timing.

Next, in step S8, the temporary allocation means 8 first refers to the data F in Table 7 to find a period in which the above-mentioned work period can be secured for the resource. Here, for the designer "C", a period in which eight days can be continuously secured without crossing another construction period is determined. If nothing has been assigned to “C”, it will start on April 1 and will be interspersed twice on Saturday and Sunday.
(Midnight) is required. Then, an evaluation value when the process “11-1-1” is assigned to the designer “C” is calculated by the PERT calculation.

Here, the provisional allocating means 7 temporarily copies the data F of Table 7 to another area before performing the PERT calculation, and stores the earliest start time EST and the latest start time EST of "11-1-1". The late start time LST is set to 4/1, and the earliest end time EET and the latest end time LET are set to 4/13 (hereinafter, referred to as temporary arrangement). In the PERT calculation, the earliest start time E
Only the part for calculating ST and the earliest end time EET is redone. As a result, data F is as shown in Table 8.

[Table 8]

(6) Evaluation for Combination Next, an evaluation value when the process is assigned to the designer is determined. Here, the evaluation value V is obtained by subtracting the fitness evaluation value Vr for resource selection from the periodic evaluation value Vd for the arrangement time, and the smaller the value, the better the evaluation value.

That is, the first evaluator 9a uses the P
Based on ERT calculation, periodic evaluation value V for placement time
Calculate d. When the process is arranged to be assigned to the designer, that is, the delay amount S of the construction period of the entire model after the provisional arrangement is calculated by the following formula.

[0123]

(Equation 4) Here, the earliest end time EET of the entire model after the provisional placement is 6/13, and the earliest end time EET of the entire model before the provisional placement.
Since ET is 6/9, the delay amount S of the construction period of the entire model is represented by the following equation.

S = 6 / 13−6 / 9 = 4 Further, the periodic evaluation value Vd is calculated by the following equation.

(Equation 5) T is the number of days from the schedule start time (here, 3/28) to the provisionally arranged end time of the process. Therefore, here, the periodic evaluation value Vd is obtained by the following equation.

[0125]

(Equation 6)

Next, the second evaluation means 9b obtains a fitness evaluation value Vr for resource selection. The suitability evaluation value Vr is set as follows.

[0127]

(Equation 7) Here, since the main person in charge of the process “11-1-1” is the designer “A”, Vr = 0.

The resource determining means 8 calculates the evaluation value Vd from the periodic evaluation value Vd and the suitability evaluation value Vr obtained by the first evaluation means 9a and the second evaluation means 9b.
Ask for. Here, the evaluation value V given to the combination of the process “11-1-1” and the designer “C” is V = 12−0 = 12.

(7) Determination of Best Designer Next, the best designer is determined. That is, step S
At 9, the resource determining means 8 determines whether the evaluation value V obtained as described above is the best value, and stores the value if it is the best value. At this point, since the evaluation value V (12) is the best value for “11-1-1”,
The evaluation value V and the designer “C” are stored in the schedule data 5
Stored in c.

(8) Evaluation for Other Designers Similarly, evaluation values V are obtained for other designers. That is, the process returns to step S5, and steps S5 to S
At 9, an evaluation value is similarly obtained for the next designer "B". That is, “11-1-1” is provisionally arranged in “B”. At this time, the end time is 4/13 as in the case of provisional arrangement at “C”, and “C” is not the main charge like “D”, so the evaluation value V is 12. This is the same as the evaluation value for "C", and the best designer is not updated from "B".

Next, in steps S5 to S9, an evaluation value is similarly obtained for the next designer "A". That is, “11-1-1” is provisionally allocated to “A”. At this time,
Although the evaluation value Vd with respect to the arrangement time is the same, "A" is the main charge, so the evaluation value Vr regarding the resource selection is D1, that is, 7.86. Therefore, the evaluation value V for the designer “A” is V = 12−7.86 = 4.14. Therefore, the evaluation value V for "A" is better than the evaluation value V for "C", and in step S9, the evaluation value V (4.14) and the best designer "A" are compared with the schedule data 5c. Is newly stored.

When the evaluation has been completed for all the designers, the process proceeds to step S10.

(9) Assignment to the best designer Finally, the assignment is made to the designer whose evaluation value is the best. That is, in step S10, the process allocating unit 6 allocates the process to the designer stored in the schedule data 5c by the resource determining unit 8. Here, “11-1-1” is assigned to the best designer “A”. Thereby, the data F
Is as shown in Table 9.

[Table 9] That is, for the process “11-1-1”, the resource R
"A" is set as S, and the earliest start time EST (4/1) is set as its start time START and end time END.
And the earliest end time EET (4/13) are set, respectively.

By repeating the above processing,
A schedule is created. When the number of processes assigned to each designer increases, the start / end times of the processes vary greatly depending on the designer. Therefore, based on the evaluation of the time when each process is allocated to each designer and the evaluation of whether the designer is in charge of the main, the evaluation of the combination of the process and the designer is performed, and the evaluation value is calculated. By comparison, if it is an acceptable delay, it is assigned to the main person in charge,
If the amount of delay is large, assign it to a designer who can perform work other than the main charge quickly. When the allocation is completed for all the processes, it is determined in step S2 that there are no processes to be allocated, and the process proceeds to step S11 to end the scheduling.

Table 10 shows data F obtained as a result of the scheduling.

[Table 10] FIGS. 5 to 9 show the results of the scheduling in a Gantt chart. FIG. 5A shows a schedule for each design item, in which a designer assigned to each process is written. FIGS. 6 to 9 show schedules for each designer, and boxes for filling in Saturdays and Sundays represent holidays. When a holiday for each individual is input by the resource definition means 3, the number of boxes for the holidays increases and becomes irregular. Since holidays are set irregularly and arranged so as to avoid them, it is possible to create a schedule according to the priority and ability in consideration of holidays.

As shown in FIG. 9, according to this scheduling result, the scheduled end date (delivery date) is exceeded by several days. The number of excess days changes depending on the coefficient α used when calculating the allowable delay amount D described above. That is, this coefficient α
Thus, the end time for the delivery date can be adjusted. Originally, the coefficient α is a coefficient considering the parallel process,
In order to meet the delivery date, the value of the coefficient α may be reduced.

However, in order to end the project without greatly deviating from the scheduled end date, first the PERT
It is necessary to set the scheduled end date with a certain margin from the entire construction period when the calculation is performed. Further, when the same designer group is shared by a plurality of projects, it is necessary to set the scheduled end date with more margin. If there is not enough time, the assignment will be made with an emphasis on ending the project earlier than assigning it to the main person in charge. If a margin is taken too much, all processes will be assigned to the main person in charge, and the schedule will end much earlier than the scheduled end date.

For example, consider a case in which a single project limited to only model 1 is scheduled. In this case, the scheduled end date is changed, and the actual end date and the number of processes assigned to the main charge are shown in Table 11.

[Table 11] From this table, if the scheduled end date is set before 6/1, the number of processes assigned to the main charge is small, but the end date is considerably delayed. If the scheduled end date is set to 8/1 or later, the number of steps assigned to the main charge is large, but the end date is considerably earlier. On the other hand, when the time is set between 7/1 and 8/1, the schedule roughly matches the scheduled end date. In this way, by giving the scheduled end date as a rough guide, the schedule is performed in consideration of the priority of the person in charge to match the scheduled end date.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the compatibility between each process and each designer is evaluated, the period element is also taken into consideration, and the balance is established by weighting. Therefore, it is possible to perform the optimal scheduling that balances the suitability and the periodical factor.

In addition, the earliest start time and the latest end time are obtained for each process based on the interrelationship between a plurality of processes, and the process is selected from the process having the smallest sum of the times. Can be selected from the steps having the highest values.
Furthermore, since the evaluation is performed by using the PERT calculation, it is not necessary to redo the allocation once the allocation has been performed, and the time for scheduling can be reduced.

B. Second Embodiment Next, a scheduling device and a scheduling method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The scheduling device according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the scheduling device according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

(1) Specific Contents of Scheduling in Second Embodiment Next, a problem of a production plan, particularly, a problem of a multi-step job shop type will be described. Here, consider a mass production line, and assume that there is a job for processing three types of products on the same line. The target product is in the form of a plate, and the process of painting both surfaces is scheduled. Further, 1. Surface polishing; 2. Surface painting; 3. Back polishing, and Processing shall be performed by four steps of back coating.

The polishing step requires a jig and a tool together with the polishing machine, and the coating step requires a jig and a tool together with the coating machine. It is assumed that jigs and tools differ depending on the product, and a one-hour setup period is required to change jigs and tools. In addition, there are two polishing machines and two painting machines,
It is assumed that any machine can perform both the front process and the back process. The capabilities of these machines are input by the resource definition means 3. Table 12 shows the result of the capability setting table.

[Table 12] This capability setting table is stored in the schedule data 5 as data D.

In the present embodiment, the desired daily production amount is determined for each product type. In addition, in order to divide the lots into lots and to suppress variations in the types to be processed, each lot is equally assigned a startable time and a delivery date during the day. Here, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the size of the lot division is set so that each processing time is one hour. Therefore, the working time for all the lots is one hour, because the difference in performance between the machines is not considered. Table 13 shows the contents of the divided lots of each type, the possible start time, and the delivery date.

[Table 13] Here, the time is represented by an integer value in time units with the schedule start time being 0. Since there are four processes for each of the 21 lots shown in Table 13, there are 84 processes that are the unit of the schedule.

Here, the order of the steps to be considered is as follows.
It is only the order relation between the processes inside each lot. The data shown in Table 13 is data for one day, and the data is created assuming that this amount is processed in 24 hours. Since there are four machines as resources in total, each of which can perform front and back processes, the total capacity is 24 × 8 = 96 [hours]. From this, it can be understood that the total work amount is a work amount that can be worked with a margin unless there is a restriction due to a setup period and an order relation between processes.

Also in the present embodiment, scheduling can be performed using the same data structure as the project scheduling in the first embodiment. However, in the case of the problem in the present embodiment, the setup time cannot be adjusted if the time is simply selected from the earlier time based on the result of the PERT calculation. That is, since the scheduling is basically performed in the left-justified manner, if the ordering is performed according to the result of the PERT calculation, each product is selected evenly, and the setup time is increased. Therefore, the setup time is reduced by grouping the processes using the same jig and tool.

As a method of putting together the steps using the same tool, there is a method of increasing the lot size. Since the setup time is reduced when the lot size is increased, many studies on the lot size have been made. However, if the lot size is adjusted on a daily basis, management becomes complicated in terms of scheduling. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the unit of scheduling at a size that is easy to manage.

Therefore, here, the lots are collected by reflecting the assignment status at that time in the comparison condition at the time of selection, instead of changing the lot size. Specifically, when the process selection is evaluated, if a process using the same tool as the process last assigned to each machine at that time is selected, the evaluation value is weighted. The size of the lot changes depending on the magnitude of the weight. Also, how much lots need to be assembled is adjusted according to how much demand there is on that day. Therefore, when the demand is large, the setup is reduced to increase the production amount, and when the demand is small, the setup is increased to match the scheduled end time as much as possible.

(2) Estimation of Allowable Delay Amount The operation of the scheduling device according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, in step S1, a PERT calculation is performed.
The result of the PERT calculation is reflected in the data F as shown in Table 14.

[Table 14] When the PERT calculation is completed, the weight correction unit 12 estimates the allowable delay amount for the entire project. In this case, the permissible delay amount is a weight for a machine having a setup of a jig and a tool at the time of assignment to each machine, and is a delay amount allowed to be assigned to a machine having a setup.

The allowable delay amount is obtained by the following equation, as in the case of the project scheduling in the first embodiment.

(Equation 8) The coefficient α is a reference value of the weight, and in this case, is set to 1 by the first weight setting unit 11a. Further, the value obtained by subtracting the earliest end time EET from the latest end time LET of each lot is 6, and the number of processes is 4
Therefore, the allowable delay amount Dn for each lot is as follows.

[0151]

(Equation 9)

Further, the weight correcting means 12 estimates the weight B of the evaluation by the used jig when selecting the process to be allocated. This is the weight B for preferentially selecting a process without setup. That is, in order to select a process without setup, it is a value of weighting the value obtained by evaluating the result of the PERT calculation. With this value, the degree to which the process using the same jig is preferentially selected is determined. Decided. Here, it is assumed that the weight B is obtained by dividing 24 hours by the allowable setup number of one machine on that day. The allowable number of setups is obtained by dividing the total spare time by the number of resources and the time of one setup. An equation for calculating the weight B is shown below.

[0153]

(Equation 10)

Here, the total resource capacity is 96 hours,
Since the total man-hour is 76, the weight B is obtained as shown below.

[Equation 11]

(3) Step Selection Next, a step of allocating to a machine is sequentially selected from a plurality of steps. That is, the process proceeds to step S2, and if there is any unassigned machine, the process proceeds to step S3.
Proceed to. Then, in step S3, a PERT calculation is performed. In the first scheduling, step S1
The result is the same as the result calculated in. Next, step S
At 4, one step with a high degree of urgency is selected. In the present embodiment, the definition of the degree of urgency is represented by the following equation. min (x) ｛EST (x) + LET (x) -J (x) ×
2B｝ Here, J (x) is “1” when the process using the same tool as that used in the process x is finally assigned to one of the machines, and in other cases, It becomes "0". The reason why B is multiplied by 2 is that the time to be compared is the sum of the earliest start time EST and the latest end time LET, so that B is numerically balanced.

As in the first embodiment, the degree of urgency may be defined as “earliest start time EST + (latest end time LET−earliest start time EST) × θ”. In this case, θ is a function of J (x).

At first, since no process is assigned to any resource, J (x) is all “0”,
The processes “1-1-1”, “2-1-1”,
Step "1-1-1" is selected from "3-1-1" and "3-1-1".

(4) Temporary Assignment Step Next, the selected process is temporarily assigned to each machine.
That is, in step S5, the provisional assignment unit 7
One of the machines “A” to “D” is selected. The selection order may be arbitrary, but here, "A"
We will select up to. First, “D” is selected.

In step S6, data D in Table 12
With reference to the contents of the (ability setting table), it is determined whether or not the process selected in step S4 can be assigned to the machine. Here, it is determined that the process “1-1-1” cannot be assigned to the machine “D” because the process is front polishing. Then, the process returns to step S5 again. Next, "C" is selected in step S5, which cannot be assigned, and then "B" is selected. Then, step S6
In step (2), the assignment permission / non-permission judgment unit 7 judges that the data can be assigned to "B" with reference to the contents of the data D (capability setting table) in Table 12, and proceeds to step S7.

Next, in step S7, the temporary allocation means 7 refers to the contents of the data D (capacity setting table) in Table 12 to determine the construction period for the process of the machine. Here, as described above, the standard construction period for each process is one day,
Since the capacity setting of the machine “B” is 1, the construction period is calculated as follows. Standard construction period (1 day) ÷ Capacity setting (1) = 1 day

Next, in step S8, first, the temporary allocating means 7 obtains the end time when "1-1-1" is allocated to the machine "A" on the left side. At first, since nothing has been assigned yet, starting from 0:00 and 1:
It ends at 00. Then, the process “11-
1-1 ”is assigned to the machine“ B ”.
Calculated by RT calculation.

Here, the provisional allocating means 7 temporarily copies the data F of Table 14 to another area before performing the PERT calculation, and stores the earliest start time EST and the latest start time EST of "1-1-1". Late start time LST at 0:00, earliest end time EET
And the latest end time LET is temporarily arranged at 1:00. In the PERT calculation, only the part for calculating the earliest start time EST and the earliest end time EET is redone. In this case, the data is not changed because it is the same as the original value.

(5) Evaluation for Combination Next, an evaluation value when the process is assigned to the machine is determined. Here, in the present embodiment, the evaluation value V is obtained by adding the periodic evaluation value Vd for the arrangement time and the setup evaluation value Vr for the resource selection, and the smaller the value, the better the evaluation.

That is, the first evaluator 9a uses the P
Based on the result of the ERT calculation, a periodic evaluation value Vd for the arrangement time is calculated. The delay S of the construction period of the entire model when the process is allocated to the machine is calculated by the following equation.

(Equation 12) In this case, S = 0.

Here, the periodic evaluation value V for the arrangement time
d is calculated by the following formula.

(Equation 13) T is the number of days of the end time of the process when the schedule start time is set to 0. Therefore, here, the periodic evaluation value Vd is obtained by the following equation.

[Equation 14]

Next, the second evaluation means 9b obtains a setup evaluation value Vr for resource selection. The setup evaluation value Vr is set as follows.

(Equation 15) If nothing has been assigned yet, there is no setup, so Vr = 0.

The resource determining means 8 calculates the evaluation value Vd from the periodic evaluation value Vd and the setup evaluation value Vr obtained by the first evaluating means 9a and the second evaluating means 9b.
Ask for. Here, the evaluation value V given to the combination of the process “1-1-1” and the machine “B” is V = 0.5 + 0 = 0.5.

(6) Determination of Best Machine Next, the best machine is determined. That is, step S9
, The resource determining means 8 determines whether the evaluation value V obtained as described above is the best value, and stores the value if it is the best value. The smaller the evaluation value V is, the better the evaluation value is. Here, the evaluation value V (0.5) and the machine “B” are stored because the value is the best value for “1-1-1”.

(7) Evaluation for Other Machines Evaluation values V are similarly obtained for other machines.
That is, returning to S5, in steps S5 to S9,
An evaluation value is similarly obtained for the next machine “A”. That is, “1-1-1” is provisionally allocated to “A”. At this time,
The end time is 1:00 as in the case of provisional arrangement at "B", and "A" has no jig and tool setup like "B", so an evaluation value V = 0.5 is obtained. This is the same as the evaluation value for "B", and the best machine is not updated. When the evaluation has been completed for all the machines in this way, the process proceeds to step S10.

(8) Assignment to the Best Machine Finally, the assignment is made to the designer whose evaluation value is the best. That is, in step S10, the process allocating unit 6 allocates “1-1-1” to the best machine “B”. Thus, the data F is as shown in Table 15.

[Table 15] That is, for the process “1-1-1”, the resource RS
Is set as the start time START and the end time END as the earliest start time EST (0:00).
And the earliest end time EET (1:00) are set respectively.

By repeating the above processing,
A schedule is created. Table 16 shows the final result.

[Table 16] FIGS. 10 and 11 show the results of the scheduling in a Gantt chart. As shown in the figure, a process that does not require jig tool replacement is preferentially selected over a process that requires jig tool replacement, and the process selected with priority is a machine that does not require jig tool replacement. Is assigned preferentially. In this way, it is possible to automatically create a schedule that measures the replacement timing of jigs and tools that must be performed with normal awareness. In addition, since the degree of priority is adjusted by predicting the degree of congestion of the machine, it is possible to perform scheduling in which the timing of tool exchange is appropriately measured.

Here, an example of scheduling for reducing the production volume as a whole will be described. Table 17 shows the contents of the lot, the possible start time, and the delivery date in this case.

[Table 17] Since the number of spare days for the delivery date of each process is the same as in the above-described example, the value of the allowable delay amount D does not change. Further, the total man-hour is 60 for 15 lots × 4 processes, and when the weight B is calculated as described above, the following equation is obtained.

(Equation 16) Here, the reason why the value is set to 2.5 instead of 3 is to make an integer value when multiplying by 2 in the calculation in the subsequent processing.

FIGS. 12A and 13 show Gantt charts showing the scheduling results. In this way, it can be seen that the schedule can be adjusted so that the work can be completed almost on the same day, and the schedule can be set so as not to be far from the scheduled end time of each lot.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the setup time is evaluated, the period element is considered, and
In order to balance them by weight,
It is possible to perform optimal scheduling that balances the efficiency of the machine with the time factor. In selecting a process, the earliest start time and the latest end time for each process are obtained based on the interrelationship of the processes, and the result of weighting the sum of the times is the minimum. In order to select from a certain process, the process can be selected in consideration of the degree of urgency and the increase / decrease of the setup.

C. Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented in various modifications without departing from the gist of the invention. The present invention also includes other embodiments.

In the above embodiments, when selecting a process, only the earliest start time EST and the latest end time LET for each process are used, but the earliest end time EET and the latest start time LST are used. You may do so.

For example, the present invention is not limited to scheduling in which a process is assigned to a designer or a processing machine, but can also be used for allocating a plurality of rooms or planning a vehicle allocation or the like.

The evaluation of the adaptability of the resource is not limited to the priority of the process and the like, but may be based on a predetermined criterion and whether or not the criterion is satisfied. For example, set a certain standard for resource capacity,
An evaluation is made as to whether the standard is exceeded.

[0179]

As described above, according to the present invention, for each of a plurality of processes in which the order relation is determined, the compatibility with a plurality of resources is evaluated, and the period element of the process is also evaluated. , The balance between its suitability and the temporal factor can be set optimally. Further, when allocating a plurality of types of resources to each of the plurality of processes, it is possible to optimally set a balance between a setup period and a period element of the above-described processes. Furthermore, the balance between the suitability and the period element or the balance between the setup period and the period element can be adjusted by weight.

As described above, a flexible schedule can be created with a simple knowledge expression, and in particular, scheduling can be easily performed for a multi-process and a problem of a plurality of machines. For example, in a project scheduling, it is possible to create a schedule for each individual, and in a production plan, a schedule can be created for a multi-step and multi-function job shop scheduling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a scheduling device according to a first embodiment and a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a scheduling procedure according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an order relation of each process in a network according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a result of performing a PERT calculation based on the order of each step in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a Gantt chart showing a result of scheduling according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Process definition means 2 ... Order relation definition means 3 ... Resource definition means 4 ... Start / end time setting means 5a ... Process data 5b ... Resource data 5c ... Schedule data 6 ... Process allocation means 7 ... Temporary allocation means 8 ... Resource determination means 9a ... first evaluation means 9b ... second evaluation means 10 ... process selection means 11a ... first weight setting means 11b ... second weight setting means 12 ... weight correction means

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/60 108 B23Q 41/08 G06F 15/02 355 G06F 19/00 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (28)

(57) [Claims] 1. A scheduler using a computer.
Resource defining means for defining an attribute including the capability of each of a plurality of resources in a scheduling apparatus for performing scheduling, and a process definition for defining each attribute of a plurality of processes having a predetermined order relationship Means, a time setting means for setting a processing start time and a scheduled processing end time for an entire series of steps in the plurality of steps or an arbitrary step therein, and a plurality of steps defined by the resource defining means. Resource
Data about the process, defined by the process definition means.
Data on a plurality of processes and the time setting means
Therefore, data on the set start and end times is stored.
That storage means and, data relating to the plurality of steps stored in said storage means
Based on the data, the plurality of steps selecting means for sequentially selecting step for assignment to a resource of the step, the steps being selected by the process selection means, said price
Data related to the process stored in the
Multiple resources based on data on
Graphics and temporary allocation means for temporary allocation for each of the front said from the result of the temporary allocation stored in said storage means
By obtaining the end time of a series of steps of the plurality of steps based on the data on the start and end times, the end time of the series of steps is evaluated in a periodical manner, and the periodical evaluation is performed in the first step. First evaluation means serving as a scale, and data relating to the resource stored in the storage means
And a second evaluation unit that evaluates the suitability of the resource for the process based on the data regarding the process, and uses the suitability evaluation as a second scale; and the first scale and the second scale. To calculate an evaluation value for the combination of the process and the resource, calculate this evaluation value for each of the plurality of resources,
By comparing the evaluation values of all the resources, a resource determining means for determining an optimum resource for the process and a process selected by the process selecting means are compared with the process.
Each of which is determined by the resource determining means
A process allocating means for sequentially allocating the resources , and a means for generating a scheduling chart representing the processes allocated to the resources by the process allocating means, wherein the process selecting means has already been allocated by the process allocating means. Wherein the selected process is not selected as a target for provisional allocation. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: a first weight setting unit configured to set a first weight for weighting the resource in consideration of an end time of a series of the plurality of processes, The scheduling device according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the suitability of the resource for the process using the first weight. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a weight correcting unit that corrects the first weight set by the first weight setting unit when an event that satisfies a predetermined condition occurs in the scheduling. The scheduling device according to claim 2. 4. The process selecting means calculates an evaluation value for each process using an earliest possible start time and an allowable latest end time based on a temporal relationship between the plurality of processes. 4. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a step is selected based on the evaluation value. 5. The process selecting means calculates an evaluation value using an earliest processable time and an allowable latest process time for each process based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of processes. 2. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a process is selected based on the evaluation value. 6. The process selecting means, based on a periodical relationship between the plurality of processes, for each process, the earliest processable time and the allowable latest process time, and each resource at that time. 2. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an evaluation value is calculated by comprehensively evaluating a correlation between an allocation status and each process, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value. 7. A second weight setting means for setting a second weight for determining a priority level of a process when determining a correlation between the allocation status of each resource and each process. The scheduling device according to claim 6, wherein: 8. A scheduling device comprising a weight correcting unit that corrects the second weight set by the second weight setting unit when an event that satisfies a predetermined condition occurs in scheduling. The scheduling device according to claim 7. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step selecting unit is configured to determine, based on a correlation between the allocation status of each of the resources at that time and each step, a time period between the earliest processable time and the latest process time. 7. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein one timing is obtained and the timing is used as the evaluation value. 10. The process definition means is configured to define additional resources in advance in addition to the resources defined by the resource definition means as resources required for each step, and the second evaluation means 2. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adaptability is evaluated to be high when a process in which the additional resource is the same in the resource is continuously assigned. 11. The process selecting means, based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of processes, for each process, the earliest processable time and the allowable latest process time, and the 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein an evaluation value is calculated by comprehensively evaluating a correlation between an allocation status and each process, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value.
0. The scheduling device according to 0. 12. The process selecting means, when a process in which the same additional resource as the additional resource of the process is defined is allocated to one of the resources at that time, determines the allocation status of each resource. 12. The scheduling apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the apparatus is configured to highly evaluate a correlation with each step. 13. The method according to claim 6, wherein the process selecting means calculates the evaluation value using an earliest possible start time and an allowable latest end time.
2. The scheduling device according to 1. 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first evaluation means is a PERT (Pr
The scheduling device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the scheduling device is configured to obtain the first scale by using a gram evaluation and review technique) calculation. 15. A scheduling method for performing scheduling using a computer, wherein each of a plurality of resources is input by a user.
Based on the data, to define the attributes including the ability and resources defining step for storing in the storage means the contents defined as data relating to a plurality of resources, the plurality of steps having a predetermined order relation, the user
Each attribute is defined based on the data input from
A process definition step for storing the defined contents as data relating to a plurality of processes in the storage means; and a series of processes in the plurality of processes or any of the processes based on data input by a user. Zu
There are, set the processing start timing and a processing scheduled end time, the timing setting step for storing in the storage means as data on starting end timing the contents set relates to the storage means the plurality of processes that are stored in the A process selecting step of sequentially selecting, from the plurality of processes, a process of allocating to a resource, based on the data, and each process selected by the process selecting step is stored in the storage unit as data on the process. And tentatively assigning each of the plurality of resources based on the data on the plurality of resources, and based on the data on the start and end times stored in the storage unit from the result of the tentative assignment. By determining the end time of a series of steps of the plurality of steps, the end of the series of steps is determined. A first evaluation step of evaluating the time period periodically and using the time evaluation as a first measure; and a data of the resource and a data of the process stored in the storage unit. A second evaluation step of evaluating suitability for the process and using the suitability evaluation as a second scale; and evaluating the first scale and the second scale to evaluate a combination of the process and the resource. Calculating an evaluation value, calculating the evaluation value for each of the plurality of resources,
A resource determining step of determining an optimal resource for the process by comparing the evaluation values of all the resources; and a step of selecting each process selected by the process selecting step, the resource determining step for the process. A process allocation step of sequentially allocating to each resource determined by the step, and a step of generating a scheduling chart representing a process allocated to the resource by the process allocation step, wherein the process selection step includes the process allocation step A process that has already been allocated by the method is not selected as a target of the temporary allocation. 16. A first weight for performing weighting on the resource , based on data input from a user , in consideration of an end time of a series of steps of the plurality of steps.
And a first weight setting step of setting, the second evaluation step uses the first weight,
16. The scheduling method according to claim 15, further comprising: evaluating suitability of the resource for the process. 17. The scheduling includes a weight correcting step of correcting the first weight set in the first weight setting step when an event satisfying a predetermined condition occurs. Claim 16
The described scheduling method. 18. The process selecting step calculates an evaluation value using an earliest possible start time and an allowable latest end time for each process based on a temporal correlation between the plurality of processes. 18. The scheduling method according to claim 17, wherein a step is selected based on the evaluation value. 19. The process selecting step calculates an evaluation value using an earliest processable time and an allowable latest process time for each process based on a periodical relationship between the plurality of processes. 16. The scheduling method according to claim 15, wherein a process is selected based on the evaluation value. 20. The process selecting step, wherein the earliest processable time and the allowable latest process time for each process, and the resource 16. The scheduling method according to claim 15, wherein an evaluation value is calculated by comprehensively evaluating a correlation between an allocation status and each process, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value. 21. A second weight for determining a priority level of a process when determining a correlation between the allocation status of each resource and each process , based on data input from a user.
21. The scheduling method according to claim 20, further comprising a second weight setting step for setting the weight based on the weight. 22. A scheduling method, further comprising a weight correcting step of correcting the second weight set in the second weight setting step when an event satisfying a predetermined condition occurs. Claim 21
The described scheduling method. 23. The process selecting step, based on a correlation between the allocation status of each of the resources at that time and each process, of the time between the earliest processable time and the latest process time. 21. The scheduling method according to claim 20, wherein one timing is obtained, and the timing is used as the evaluation value. 24. The process definition step is configured to define additional resources in advance in addition to the resources defined by the resource definition step as resources required for each process, and the second evaluation step 16. The scheduling method according to claim 15, wherein the suitability is evaluated to be high when a process in which the additional resource is the same in the resource is continuously assigned. 25. The process selecting step, wherein the earliest possible processing time and the allowable latest processing time for each of the processes, and the resource 25. The scheduling method according to claim 24, wherein an evaluation value is calculated by comprehensively evaluating a correlation between an allocation status and each process, and a process is selected based on the evaluation value. 26. The process selecting step, wherein when a process in which the same additional resource as the additional resource of the process is defined is assigned to any of the resources at that time, the allocation status of each of the resources is determined. 26. The scheduling method according to claim 25, wherein a correlation with each step is highly evaluated. 27. The method according to claim 20, wherein in the step of selecting a process, the evaluation value is calculated by using an earliest possible start time and an allowable latest end time. Scheduling method. 28. The method according to claim 28, wherein the first evaluation step includes a PERT
28. The scheduling method according to any one of claims 15 to 27, wherein the first scale is calculated using (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) calculation.